TIME Education

Malala Says She Hopes to Become Pakistan’s Prime Minister

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai attends a press conference on Dec. 9, 2014 at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo ahead of the ceremony to present her with the award.
Odd Andersen—AFP/Getty Images Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai attends a press conference on Dec. 9, 2014 at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo ahead of the ceremony to present her with the award.

The 17-year old shot by the Taliban: "I want to serve my country"

She’s still a teenager but Malala Yousafzai has already survived a brutal attack by the Taliban, served as a global champion of girls’ education and become the youngest Nobel Laureate in history. Yet the young Pakistani activist, who is in Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, told the BBC that she still hopes to achieve much more and even become Prime Minister of Pakistan one day.

“I want to serve my country and this is my dream that my country becomes a developed country and I see every child get an education,” the 17-year-old activist said in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday. She said she was inspired by Pakistan’s first female prime minister — Benazir Bhutto, who served two terms before she was assassinated in 2007. “If I can serve my country best through politics and through becoming a prime minister then I would definitely choose that.”

MORE: Meet the guests of Malala joining her as she receives the Nobel Peace Prize

Malala became an international household name in October 2012 when she was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin while riding in a school bus. She was attacked for her advocacy of girls’ education before the shooting and since recovering from the attack has gone on to champion girls’ education and girls’ rights around the globe.

[video id=eYSVULGI]

[BBC]

Tap to read full story

Your browser is out of date. Please update your browser at http://update.microsoft.com


YOU BROKE TIME.COM!

Dear TIME Reader,

As a regular visitor to TIME.com, we are sure you enjoy all the great journalism created by our editors and reporters. Great journalism has great value, and it costs money to make it. One of the main ways we cover our costs is through advertising.

The use of software that blocks ads limits our ability to provide you with the journalism you enjoy. Consider turning your Ad Blocker off so that we can continue to provide the world class journalism you have become accustomed to.

The TIME Team